Spike
I dragged Hawke's body off Harlow's lap, he was a huge man and it took a lot to remove the dead weight. I noticed the cuts on the tops of Harlow's thighs and quickly removed my cut and t-shirt to tear strips the length of the material.
Harlow was whimpering and her breathing became laboured, "Harlow, it's going to be okay you're safe now but I've gotta wipe this shit off your face," I used the material from my shirt to wipe away what was left of Hawke. "I'm gonna try and stop your legs from bleeding, it will hurt but I've gotta do it babe. You've just gotta be brave for me."
Harlow didn't say a word she just sat staring at me with a vacant expression. I lifted her left leg, gently placing the material underneath and wrapped it around securing it tightly. She tried to recoil but I held firm, "I've gotta do this babe, I know it hurts but the guys will be here soon and we'll take you to Doc."
I continued to stem the bleeding and did the same with the other leg. Harlow was drifting in and out of conciseness, I slapped her lightly on the cheek, "Stay with me babe, try and keep your eyes open."
I heard a commotion and glanced towards the stairs to see Duke.
"Duke stop man and throw me your t-shirt and give us a minute." Duke looked at me and glanced over my shoulder evaluating the situation in front of him. Not saying a word he removed his cut and t-shirt and threw it to me before giving me a nod and going back up stairs to wait.
Harlow was now shivering from the cold, using my knife I unfastened her wrists as I held the top of her arm securely. It was most certainly broken and I didn't want to cause any more damage. It took some time but I managed to get Dukes t-shirt on Harlow and used the rest of the material from my shirt to make a sling for her busted arm. Although she must have been in pain, she was in shock and I was mindful of getting her to Doc as soon as possible as she was losing blood fast.
Diesel
Hound and I rode our bikes to the warehouse in High Laver as fast as we could, closely followed by Justice in the Ford Transit. We knew that Ink had to be here but didn't know what kind of reception the other guys would've been greeted with. As we pulled up outside the warehouse, I noticed Skinner walking around the outside of the building with a couple of cans of petrol.
The noise of the vehicles made him draw his 9mm, bracing himself for an attack.
"Skinner, its fine man it's us." I yelled, taking off my helmet as I ran over to him. "Have you found her?" I could hear my strained words, there was a possibility that she could've been found injured or even worse, and I didn't know how my heart would handle that.
"She's in the barn behind this warehouse." Skinner stated looking at the ground. I went to take off but he grabbed my arm, "Diesel, Harlow's in a bad way man. Spikes with her but don't go in there all fists flying." I looked at his hand holding my arm and shook him off, running over to the barn as I needed to be with her.
I burst through the front door to see Locke handcuffing Flex and I noticed what looked like an unconscious Patch on the floor. CJ was talking animatedly on the phone pacing around the room that he didn't even notice me as I flew past stalking into an office at the back of the building, where I found a bare chested Duke leaning against the kitchen worktop with his arms folded across his broad chest.
"Where is she Duke?" I said frantically walking over to him.
"She's down those stairs but Diesel, she's in shock man just go easy."
I opened the door and ran down the stairs assessing the sight in front of me. Spike was carrying a half clothed Ink, her left arm was in a make shift sling and I could see that she had material wrapped around her thighs. I wanted to hug her, to hold her tight but I stopped myself through fear of hurting her. I looked past them to see a body on the floor. What the fuck had happened? I'd promised to look after her but I'd let her down again.
Spike carried her to Doc's van and placed her gently in the front seat for Doc to examine her quickly and assess her injuries. We tried to keep knife and bullet wounds within the club because a hospital visit would alert the police, that's why we had Doc on our books.
He removed the material from her thigh to reveal a two inch stab wound.
"Diesel make yourself useful and hold this torch." Doc said holding out the blue Maglite. I turned it on and held it directly on Ink's injuries to see that it was a clean cut which would make the healing process quicker. She'd been stabbed with force and I could feel the anger build inside me, that the torch started to shake.
Doc placed his hand gently on mine, "Calm down Diesel, she's going to be okay." Doc's reassuring words made me feel a little better but I was still full of hatred towards Hawke and only wished that I'd pulled the trigger myself.
Doc cleaned the first wound and covered it over with fresh bandages and quickly did the same with the other leg.
"How bad are they Doc?" I asked looking at her thighs.
"I'll take her back to the infirmary and patch her legs up properly before we take her to hospital." I looked at him with a questioning look, "It's unavoidable, her arm is broken and we don't have the facilities to x-ray and set. I'll try and put a splint on it though to secure it in position to prevent further damage."
He busied himself working away to make sure she was fit to travel before securing the seatbelt around her and moving over to the driver's seat.
I leant over looking into her eyes. "Ink, if you can hear me babe, just know that I'm so sorry." She continued to stare with no recognition which must have been the shock but as I looked closer, I could see a single tear trickle down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb as I held her face, looking into her red rimmed eyes.
"We really need to go Diesel." Doc said anxiously starting the engine.
"I'll follow you on my motorcycle." I kissed Ink on the forehead then climbed out of the van, closing the door gently behind me. I watched as the van drove out of sight, trying to compose myself before my journey back to the clubhouse but I was getting worried, worried that she wouldn't want me after letting her down so badly.
Spike pulled me from my thoughts as he slapped me on the back.
"Do you want to do the honours with Patch or can I?" I glanced at Spike to see his tight smile.
"He's all yours mate, I've gotta take care of Ink."
I arrived at the clubhouse the same time as Doc. I'd called ahead and had spoken to Maggie to make sure that the infirmary was ready for Ink. Parking my Harley in its usual place I removed my helmet resting it on the handlebars before making my way quickly around to the passenger door of Doc's van, opening it softly as to not wake her. The pain killers had probably kicked in now allowing her a few minutes of rest, I placed my arm under her legs and pulled her against my chest to carry her gently to the infirmary and placed her onto the bed.
"I don't want to have a row with you Diesel but I need to work on her and I want to do it in privacy so I can concentrate." Doc stood with his hands on his hips giving me an authoritative look.
He was in his late fifties with greying short hair and thick spectacles, he was a good looking man for his age but looked like an accountant and certainly stood out like a sore thumb among us bikers. He was a good man and had served the Aces for almost thirty years, long before my time at the club and I was thankful he was here. He stood by us through thick and thin and I respected the hell out of him for doing so and although I didn't like what he was asking I wanted Ink to be well.
"Please look after her Doc, I'll just be outside if you need me." He nodded as I left the room, closing the door quietly behind me. Letting out a loud sigh I rested my back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. I wasn't going anywhere, I'd wait for as long as it took to make sure she was safe.
"Do you want one?" Spike slid down the wall beside me sitting on the floor in the corridor, holding a bottle of Jack and two glasses. I nodded and accepted the amber liquid, knocking it back in one shot as we sat in silence, thinking in our own heads about today's events when the door to the infirmary opened. We both jumped up waiting for news on Ink and noticed that Doc was flushed as he quickly unfastened a clear plastic apron he was wearing with Ink's blood clearly visible on the front.
He could see the anguish on our faces. "She's doing well, I've cleaned and sealed the wounds and no major arteries were severed. She just needs time to recover." Doc rolled the apron into a ball.
"Has she been raped?" I asked bluntly needing to know the full severity of her injuries.
"No!" Doc rested his hand on my upper arm as I stood running my hand through my hair, I could feel a little tension leave my body knowing that she was going to be okay, well eventually.
"What about her arm? Are we taking her to hospital?" Spike asked agitated.
"Well, I wanted to ask you something first." Doc looked at the floor sheepishly not making eye contact. "You know that my son James has his own health clinic." Spike and I nodded.
Doc was pleased of his sons achievements and rightly so. He spoke about him regularly, not that I gave a shit at this moment in time. It made me think of Shaun and that I would never see him grow, go to school, get a job or get married. My heart ached thinking about him but I pushed my wondering thoughts aside.
"What's that got to do with this situation Doc?" I asked leaning against the door frame.
"Well, he has his own x-ray machine, I spoke to him and he's prepared to bring it here. That way we can treat her arm without going to the hospital." Doc looked at me waiting for a response. "I know you'll have to check with Duke before making an important decision like this but..."
I cut him off abruptly, "Call your son, tell him to make his way here now. If he needs transport let Spike know and I'll tell Duke what we're doing." I stomped off down the corridor in the direction of Duke's room.
The bachelor pad was sparse and decorated in cool greys, blacks and whites as Duke liked the minimal look. He'd just taken a shower and was now changing into clean clothes when I arrived.
"How's she doing?" he asked pulling on his t-shirt.
"She's gonna be okay but we need her arm looked at with specialist equipment. Doc said that his son can do it, so I've asked him to come over." I stared at Duke goading him to question me.
"You made the right call Diesel, we need her looked at."
I was shocked that he hadn't questioned me usually he'd knock me down at any given opportunity.
"What do you know about his son? Doc's getting old, we may need to start thinking about the future." He bent down to retrieve his cut from the floor.
"Not much he has his own Health Clinic. Let's see if he fixes Ink first before we get too excited." I stomped out of his room and back down the corridor until I was at the infirmary. I didn't know how long Duke would allow my mood swings to continue before he smacked me down but at this moment in time, I really didn't give a shit.
Ink was still asleep so I continued to sit in the corridor with Spike.
"How did you find her?" I asked Spike taking another swig of my Jack.
"I noticed the smaller barn and as I approached I saw Patch and Flex in the office, I knew she couldn't be far." He stopped and took a swig of his drink before he continued. "It was fucking awful Diesel. Hawke had already stabbed her twice before I got there, he went to do it again so I blew his fucking head off." I could see his eyes haze over, getting emotional.
"It just brought back memories of Helen."
Helen was Spike's older sister of eight years and she had been babysitting Spike one evening when his parents were out which was a regular occurrence in Spike's household. Helen had put Spike to bed after reading him a story and he'd drifted off to sleep quickly, but was woken by screams coming from the living room. He went downstairs to investigate to find a man attacking his fourteen year old sister. Spike tried to protect her by jumping on the man's back, only to be thrown to the floor but the second man held him and he was made to watch his sister being gang raped before she was eventually murdered. He would have been killed himself, if he hadn't of escaped when the man let him go to undress himself.
Spike came to live with us after that and although we are cousins, our bond was and still is closer than that, much closer. From that day, Spike took it upon himself to try to help everyone and everything, the amount of stray cats and dogs he brought home became a joke in our house.
I must have laughed aloud.
"What's funny?" He looked at me with an evil glare.
I leant over and patted him on the leg and smirked, "I was thinking about all the cats and dogs you used to bring home."
We both laughed at the memories, it must have been loud because Doc came out looking puzzled.
"Is everything okay?" He asked looking between us as we continued to snigger.
"Do you remember that one eyed mongrel that used to eat the carpet? What was its name again?" I asked with tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Panda! I always wanted a Dalmatian as a kid and was gonna call it Panda but if a one eyed mongrel was all I was getting, then that was good enough for me."
We were laughing so hard that we didn't notice Hound and Justice wheeling a machine down the corridor until they were upon us.
"Guys this is my son James." Doc said introducing us.
James was over 6ft tall, broad and without sounding gay a good looking man. He held out his hand so I stood to shake it and was surprised by his firm grip, you could tell a lot about a man's character from his handshake.
"Diesel," I said in a way of introduction. He didn't look intimidated by the bikers that surrounded him which I respected. So many people were scared of us from what they'd heard and thought we represented, most of it was bollocks but it sometimes worked to our advantage. Come to think of it, we probably paid for his education from the amount we'd paid his old man over the years.
"Could you please wheel it in here?" Doc asked moving out of the doorway to give the guys enough room.
Hound and Justice looked like delivery men trying to manoeuvre the x-ray machine through the small gap but they understood the urgency and persevered until it was through.
James placed his rucksack on the table and removed the equipment he would be needing.
"Right guys, give us some space and we'll see you once she's patched up." Doc shooed us out of the way eagerly.
Before I left the room, I turned to face James, "I appreciate your help man. If you look after her, I'll be forever in your debt."
James smiled, "I'm a doctor and helping people is what I do, I can't promise anything until I've taken a look at her but I'll do my best." That was good enough for me, I nodded and shut the door behind me.
Spike, Duke, Bear and I were at the bar, trying to relax a little as they worked on my baby.
"We buried Hawke, well what was left of him in the usual place." Bear said calmly taking a sip of his drink.
"What about Patch?" I asked, hoping that I would have the opportunity to relieve some of my tension by kicking the shit out of him.
"He's alive," Duke said coldly. "I want to give Harlow the opportunity to decide what we do with him, once she's better." I looked at Duke, not understanding what he was saying. "Harlow expressed that she'd like to see their final breaths. She saw Hawke die directly in front of her and I'll give her the choice regarding Patch."
I let out a low whistle, "Do you think that's wise, after all she's been through?" I was getting annoyed with his flippant comments.
"It may be the only way she can get over all this shit Diesel, think about it properly before you kick off." I rubbed my forehead trying to relieve some of the tension, she'd asked to be there when they met their maker but when push came to shove would she really want to be involved?
I pushed my angst aside as we discussed Flex and that there would be no further repercussions at the moment. Duke explained that Flex had beaten Patch and was about to deal with Hawke when we arrived. His story seemed credible but he would be kept under surveillance for peace of mind although I couldn't see him being involved in hurting Ink as she was like family to him.
Flex had informed us that the majority of Skulls had lost faith in Hawke over recent years and he was going to inform members at church that Hawke and Patch had murdered Trigger, and then the club would start to rebuild. I was happy enough with that but we would be putting not only Flex but the movements of the club under strict surveillance as we didn't want any repercussions from killing Hawke. This would be expensive but the money from the sale of the ecstasy tablets should cover the cost.
Tyler, the now longest serving Prospect was showing Buster and Ramsey, how to run the bar. We sat in silence waiting for what felt like a lifetime to hear news of Ink's injuries. Someone cleared their throat behind us, we turned to see James.
"It's a clean break, I've realigned the bones and applied a plaster cast. She'll need between six to eight weeks to recover."
I nodded my head in appreciation.
"Get him a drink Buster." Duke said tapping on the bar.
"Can I see her?" I asked standing from my chair.
James looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, she's asking for you."
"I thought I'd lost you babe." I said grabbing for her good hand as I sat on the chair next to her bed. She looked over at me with wide eyes. "What's up babe?" I panicked as Ink began to cry, not just a whimper but a full heartfelt sob. I tried to comfort her as best I could, trying not to hurt her as I held her close but I stayed quiet to allow her time to grieve. I didn't want to push her and thought it best to let her start the conversation when she felt ready to talk.
Eventually her sobs softened and I loosened my hold on her to wipe her tears with my thumbs and push her hair out of her eyes. Sitting back down in the chair, I held her hand stroking it waiting for her to initiate conversation.
"I'm so sorry." She said in a whisper.
I rubbed the back of her hand, "Sorry for what babe?" What could she possibly be sorry about?
"I tried my best to get away but he was too strong, Jimmy tried to protect me." She removed her hand from mine and rubbed her forehead.
"Ink, this is not your fault. Hawke was a fucking lunatic to think that he could pressure someone into loving him." I grabbed her hand pulling it to my lips, "You made it clear that you weren't interested and he paid the ultimate price." Tears trickled down her cheeks again.
"Jimmy's death is not on you babe. Patch made that choice and he'll also pay the price." We sat in silence for a while as she processed what I'd just told her.
"I thought you'd blame me for Jimmy's death and resent me for it." Ink stared at me looking for a reaction to her statement, she gently touched my face with her good hand and I leaned into her caress. Never had a woman made me feel the way she did.
"I thought I'd lost you tonight and that I'd never be able to tell you how I feel." Her tears continued to stream down her face. "I love you Ink, more than I've ever loved anyone in my whole life. I know this is quick and I don't want to scare you off but I want to look after you babe, most importantly I want you to be my old lady." I leaned closer and her eyes widened before I kissed her lips taking her by surprise.
There was a knock on the door and Spike entered the room before I had time to tell him to fuck off!
"Amy's at the bar Diesel, asking for you." I didn't take my eyes off Ink as she searched my face, obviously shocked by what I'd just told her.
Once she'd composed herself she closed her mouth slightly licking her delicious lips, heat rushed through my body and I wanted to fuck her there and then despite her injuries.
Ink's eyes flickered between Spike and I, "You better go and see what she wants, I'll catch up with Spike while you're gone."
I bent down to kiss her on the forehead before turning and walking out of the room feeling a little more relieved now that I knew she was going to be okay.
Harlow
I looked up at Spike standing hesitantly in the middle of the room. "Thank you," I said quietly raising my good hand, flexing my fingers to try and encourage him over to where I was laying. He moved slowly and sat down beside me, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
"You gave us all a fright, Ink." Spike stated looking at me with red rimmed watery eyes. I stroked his cheek gently, wiping the lone tear that ran down his face.
"You saved me Spike, I'm forever in your debt." I smiled trying to get him to lighten up.
This was the first time that another member of the club had called me Ink and I understood the importance, I'd now been accepted which gave me a warm feeling inside that I was now part of their family.
He let out a loud sigh, "I just want you recovered and back to work as soon as possible. I've missed your arse around the place." I laughed, holding my ribs as I chuckled.
"Not looking like this!" I said running my fingers through my awful hair.
"You may have a point, there's a new salon that's opened on the high street. I'll take you there when you're better, my treat."
We sat in comfortable silence I could feel my eyes getting heavy but felt safe with Spike sitting next to me, now holding my hand.
Diesel
I entered the bar to find James and Amy deep in conversation but she turned her head at the noise of me coming through the door, and as her eyes met mine she jumped off the stool and into my arms.
"Jimmy!" She whimpered as she began to cry in my embrace. I cupped the back of her head, keeping her close trying to comfort her. She'd become close to Jimmy over recent weeks, not that it was anything romantic. They'd developed a close bond while looking out for Ink so this was going to really cut her up but I didn't want this event to knock her off kilter as she had been doing well in recent years. Spike and I would just have to be there to support her through this difficult time. I let her sob and eventually she quietened down and composed herself, wiping her eyes as we settled back at the bar.
"How's Harlow doing?" Amy asked hiccupping with tears still trickling slowly down her face.
"It's gonna take her six to eight weeks to heal physically but who knows how long emotionally after what she's been through."
We sat for a while in silence, contemplating today's events as I continued to comfort Amy as she snuggled into my side.
Spike entered the room and walked up to the bar to join us, "That's one brave girl you have there Diesel." I nodded agreeing with his comment.
"Is she up for visitors?" Amy asked getting up from her stool.
"She's just fallen asleep, probably best to leave her." Spike said pouring himself a drink from the bottle left on the table.
"I'm gonna head home then and call back in the morning as I'm not feeling very sociable. I got a cab here because my car is still playing up. Can someone give me a lift home?"
I looked around the room seeing the guys either drunk, exhausted or being serviced by some of the hang arounds, James must have seen my hesitation.
"Where are you going?" He asked looking at Amy.
"It's okay I don't want to put you out James." Amy said blushing slightly.
"It's fine, where do you need to go?" James asked standing from his stool and removing his keys from his trouser pocket. I found his tone forceful and was surprised that Amy didn't react like she would've, if it was one of the guys from the club that had spoken to her that way.
"If it's not too much trouble then I'd appreciate a lift, I live in Epping."
James looked at Duke, "Is that okay?" he asked waiting casually for a response.
I appreciated that he wanted to see her home safely.
"I know Diesel feels like he owes you something, for helping Harlow but I don't owe you shit. You do anything to Ames that she doesn't want you too and you'll answer to me. Are we clear?" Duke asked standing with his hands in his pocket looking menacing.
"Crystal!" James answered with a nod of his head.
Rolling her eyes, Amy walked out of the clubhouse with James' hand resting on her lower back.
I looked at Duke, "A little over the top, don't you think?" I said sniggering.
"Just keeping him on his toes until I figure him out."
An hour later, Spike wheeled Ink into the bar. "You okay babe, I thought you were sleeping?" I asked bending down in front of the wheel chair. She was black and blue, her hair was a mess where it had been cut and she had several bandages covering her wounds but this remarkable woman in front of me was still beautiful in every sense of the word.
"I needed to get out of that room and see you." Ink said grabbing for my hand. "Can we talk?" I stood and wheeled Ink to the corner of the room, out of earshot of everyone.
"What's up babe?" I asked not really wanting to hear what she had to say as her tone worried me.
"Did you mean what you said earlier about me being your old lady?" She couldn't look me in the eye as she spoke and I knew that if she could stand, she would be nervously swinging her leg back and forth. God I loved this woman.
I placed my hand under her chin lifting it slowly, looking into her beautiful eyes.
"I meant every fucking word babe, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." With that declaration of love, I leaned closer and kissed her on the lips as if my life depended on it. When I pulled away, the bar erupted with whoops, laughter and clapping as they had clearly seen the interaction.
"Can I have some quiet please?" I said raising my hands and standing so everyone could see. "Ink has just agreed to be my old lady. I know we need to vote on this but..." Duke stood and walked over to us as the club fell silent.
"We don't need to vote about shit man, welcome to the family Ink." He leant over and kissed her on the forehead to more cheers and laughter from the rest of the club.